FISH4SCORES.COMProudly covering Hamilton Township sports since 2009Although Brett Harris and Spencer Conti nearly collided on this ball on Friday, they stayed out of each other's way well enough on Saturday to do their jobs on the mound (Harris) and at the plate (Conti) (Photo by Cheryl Harris).Aug. 1, 2015 Babe Ruth Mid-Atlantic Regionals (13s)Nottingham romps again to move to 3-0 in pool play

The Broad Street Park baseball team celebrates via the doggie pile way after defeating Brooklawn 4-3 Monday night at Mercer Park to win the program's first district title and advance to the state's first Final 8 since 1992 (Photo by Nancy McManimon). July 20-21, 2015 Legion Baseball District TournamentsChamps!: BSP tops Brooklawn, Post 31 rips Passaic

Tim-ber! Hamilton's Tim Toomer looks like a chopped tree going down as he heads into second base with a two-run double in the first inning of Thursday night's District One game with West Windsor that was suspended after four innings (Photo by Mary Malone/Purchase photos at Malone Photography).July 9, 2015 Babe Ruth District One (13s)Hamilton leads WWP 3-1 after four in suspended game

Sunnybrae's Anthony Wilk can't get Nottingham's Jordan Nitti at second, but he completed the play to get the out at first during Wednesday's action of the District 12 elimination final, which was completed Thursday night (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com). July 9, 2015 District 12 Little League (12s)Nottingham wins two-night game to oust Sunnybrae

Hamilton Babe Ruth 13s stay alive in DistrictsJuly 7: The Hamilton Babe Ruth 13-year-old All-Stars took an 18-3 win over Montgomery tonight to stay alive in District One play. Hamilton meets West Windsor-Plainsboro Wednesday at Switlik Park in another elimination game, as WW-P beat Lawrence 3-1.

Mike Glazewski gets ready to fire a pitch against South Brunswick in Tuesday's legion game at Hamilton West. Glazewski allowed one run in six innings in Broad Street's 9-1 victory. That sets up a showdown for first with Hamilton Wednesday night. (Photo by Nancy McManimon). July 7, 2015 Legion BaseballHamilton wins in extras again; BSP tops South Brunswick

Hamilton's Nicholas Potocki is out at home in the fifth of Monday night's Babe Ruth District One game against Ewing-Hopewell. The Switlik Gang dropped a 2-1 decision as it had two runners thrown out at home in the fifth (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com). July 6, 2015 Babe Ruth District One (13s)Nottingham wins opener, Hamilton edged by E-H

Connor Egan (white helmet) is congratulated by taller teammate Anthony Ciffullo and several other Sunnybrae teammates after homering in the fourth inning of Monday's 12-year-old District 12 tournament win over Lawrence (Photo by Mary Malone). July 6, 2015 Little League All-Stars (12s) Brae stays alive in District 12 as do Lads in Ripken states

Anthony Francioso is hoisted in the air by Steven Moticha after delivering a walk-off single in the ninth to lift Hamilton over Hopewell Valley, 1-0, Monday night. Looking on are winning pitcher Sean O'Boyle (24) and David Stec (22), while Hopewell's Jim Smiegocki sadly walks off after pitching six outstanding innings to start the game (Photo by Amanda Ruch/http://amandaruchphotography.smugmug.com/).July 6, 2015 Legion BaseballHamilton wins walk-off; BSP rolls; Hibernians stunned

Kyle Kopczynski helped spark a mind-boggling sixth-run inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk to start a six-run rally in Sunnybrae's 8-7 District 12 win over Cranbury-Plainsboro (Photo by Mary Malone). July 5, 2015 District 12 Little League (10s)Sunnybrae scores six in sixth for amazing walk-off win

Sunnybrae centerfielder Johnny Gibbs (above) stretches to make a nice catch against HTRBA during Friday's 12-year-old District 12 elimination game at Van Horn Field. Gibbs' defense helped the Brae to a 10-9, seven-inning victory, as the Yardville Gang returns to action at 6 p.m. Monday on their home field against the loser of Sunday's Lawrence-Robbinsville game. Below, HTRBA's Zak given puts the tag on Jack Pattik as the Sunnybrae runner tries stretching a single to a double. Sunnybrae trailed 7-0 at one point but rallied behind Sean Fessler, who had the game winning hit and was the winning pitcher with four solid innings of relief. Gibbs, Anthony Wilk and Ryan Liquori each had two hits. has won two straight elimination games, beating Cranbury-Plainsboro 5-4 on Thursday (Photos by John Blaine/purchase photos atjbsportsphoto@aol.com).

HTRBA catcher Joe Tyger tags out Nottingham's Jack Hardiman at home during Wednesday's 12-year-old District 12 opener at Sayen Park. It was one of the few things that didn't work out for Nottingham in a 13-1 victory (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com).July 1, 2015 District 12-Year-Old TournamentsGater leads Nottingham; Little Lads win Ripken title

Dominick Maglione, shown as a young pup two years ago pitching for the Sunnybrae All-Stars, will be one of the hurlers for the Hamilton Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars when they begin District One play against Ewing-Hopewell Friday night at Mercer East (Photo by Nancy Eggert).June 26, 2015 Babe Ruth District One 14sHamilton begins tourney play against Ewing-Hopewell

Nottingham senior Alexander Borzelin poses in front of the New Balance banner after he earned All-American status at the New Balance National Track & Field meet this past weekend. Running in Lane 8 Borzelin finished fifth in the nation in the 400 intermediate hurdles with a time of 52.68.

Tino Malave turned in another web gem Wednesday night as he fields this ground ball and shovels to first baseman Cole McManimon to get the out against Ewing in Broad Street Park's 8-2 victory (Photo by Nancy McManimon).June 17, 2015 Legion BaseballBSP tops Ewing;Post 31 rolls;Hibos win again

Isaiah Hall had another two-hit game Saturday as Broad Street Park defeated South Brunswick to move to 6-0 (Photo by Nancy McManimon). June 13, 2015 Legion BaseballWoods blanks South Brunswick;Trenton stuns HamiltonJune 13: Pat Woods became the second starting pitcher in as many days to toss a complete-game shutout for Broad Street Park as Post 313 took a 6-0 win at South Brunswick to move to 5-0 today. Anthony Meduri, Tino Malave, Isaiah Hall and Cole McManimon each had two hits, with Meduri and Hall hitting triples. Trenton snapped Hamilton's four-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory, as Anthony Reyes hit a solo homer and Jayson Roland tossed a four-hitter as Doug "Airline Fugitive" Moore's team moved to 2-1. Post 31 slipped to 4-2.

Cole McManimon gets ready to fire a pitch against Princeton during Friday's game at Smoyer Park. McManimon pitched a five-inning no-hitter and got an outstanding defensive play from Tino Malave (background) in the fifth inning to preserve the gem in BSP's 14-0 win (Photo by Nancy McManimon). June 12, 2015 Legion BaseballMcManimon dazzles Princeton as BSP goes to 4-0

Mike Suosso had a sacrifice fly and single in North Hamilton's loss at West Windsor-Plainsboro Thursday night (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com). June 11, 2015 Legion BaseballWW-P rallies past North Hamilton late in the game

North Hamilton baserunner Nick Formica and Hamilton second baseman Kenny Zahn both look to see umpire Anthony "The Aribter" DeBonis (not pictures) make the safe call on Formica's third-inning stolen base in Tuesday night's game (Photo by Mary Malone). June 9, 2015 Legion BaseballHamilton stays hot with win over North Hamilton

This year's sportsmanship winners from Hamilton West, Steinert and Nottingham show off their plaques after being honored Tuesday night at the CVC Sportsmanship Dinner at Mercer Oaks.

Rossi's server/hostess Debbie Rossi presents Malik Snead with his gift card while the Hamilton West senior displays his complimentary t-shirt after being names the Fish4scores.com/Rossi's Athlete of the Week (Photo by Rich Fisher). June 7, 2015 Fish4scores/Rossi's Athlete of the Week Snead's Groups and MOC efforts keep West tradition alive

There was plenty of action on the basepaths during Post 31's 7-2 win at West Windsor-Plainsboro South Sunday. Above, coach Rich Giallella quietly urges Jake Beyer to get home on a rundown, while below, second baseman Shane Keledy takes a throw from Nick Giori (14) on a bunt, while winning pitcher Sean O'Boyle looks on. O'Boyle scattered eight hits, while Keledy had two RBI and Beyer, Steven Moticha, Giori, Ryan Sparks and Kenny Zahn had one each. Matt Ricci doubled for Post 31, which improved to 2-1. Hamilton took a 5-0 lead in the second and never looked back (Photo by Amanda Ruch / amandaruchphotography@gmail.com).

Hamilton Township's Amanda Ferlisi heads for first base with one of her two singles for Notre Dame in Saturday's NJSIAA Non-Public championship game at Kean University. Ferlisi had half of the Irish's four hits, as ND fell to Immaculate Heart, 1-0, when IHA got a two-out, walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com).

It was a meeting of Nottingham athletes past and present as Rossi's waiter Kevin Fuller, a former Northstar hockey/lacrosse player, presents Northstar "Amazing" Grace Dwyer with her gift card while the junior displays her complimentary t-shirt after being named Fish4scores/Rossi's Athlete of the Week (Photo by Rich Fisher). May 31, 2015 Fish4scores/Rossi's Athlete of the Week Dwyer continues to raise her bar for success in states

West 4x100 & Ashmore; Greco reaches MOC as wild card May 31: By virtue of her 7th-place throw of 114-2 in the discus, Steinert's Mariah "Carey" Greco has advanced to Wednesday's NJSIAA as a wild card. The senior set the school record for discus twice on Saturday. Hamilton's Marvin Ashmore also got a wild card by virtue of his 8th-place time of 22.51 in the 200 meters, while the Hornets girls' 4x100 relay of Mercedes Mendoza-Dye, Marissa Flim, Dimitria Jones and Alyssa Hill got a wild card with an 11th-place time of 49.78.

Nottingham's Grace Dwyer may not look happy, but she's loving life after just winning the NJSIAA Group III 3200 race at South Plainfield Saturday afternoon ((Photo by Tony Piscotta).May 30, 2015 NJSIAA Group III Girls Track & FieldDwyer wins 3200 as she and Flim reach MOC twice

It wouldn't be Memorial Day without a parade appearance from Hamilton Township's Little Bigger Baseball League, which was the nation's original Babe Ruth Baseball team in 1951. The LBL boys took their usual ride in the parade before enjoying some refreshments at the Nottingham Firehouse afterward. Partaking in the fun were (front row, from left) Jack Zoller, Frank Lugossy, John Fiori, Turk Morgan; (back row) Gil "Fish's Dad" Lugossy, Tony Marant, Walt Fajgier, Elmer Gafgen and Dave Bryan (Photo by Rich Fisher).

Cabrini freshman Jess Giordano, a Steinert grad,made the Colonial States Athletic Conference this week after an outstanding week in the circle (Photo courtesy of Cabrini College Athletic Communications).Apr. 23 College SoftballGiordano honored at Cabrini; township players aid MCCC

Congratulations and kudos to "Team Terry", which did the Walk for MS at Veterans Park Sunday. Led by captain Terry Rossi and Post-Walk Happy Hour Director Kathy Clemency, the members of Team Terry did a 5K walk to raise funds to fight multiple sclerosis.

After a torrid week in which he hit .389, Rider leftfielder and Steinert graduate James Locklear received the CollegeSportsMadness.com Player of the Week from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Photo courtesy Pete Borg/Rider Athletic Communications).Apr. 15, 2015 College BaseballRider's torrid-hitting Locklear gets first collegiate honor

Mike Fornaro learned a valuable lesson Sunday night, that when you get all dressed up the pretty girls come flocking. Fornaro is flanked by Steinert senior classmates Kylie Kiefffer (left) and Julia "St. Paddy's Queen" DeAngelo as the trio was honored with berths on the Hibernian Senior 11 team. Fornaro and Kieffer were also scholarship winners (Photo by Suzanne Fornaro).

It was a fun time in the Hornets Nest recently as over 40 students participated in the Hamilton West Unified Basketball Tournament, which provided an opportunity for students with and without disabilities the ability to compete together in a competitive environment (Photo by Carol Teeter).Hamilton West Unified Basketball TournamentTeam Orange tops Team Black in championship game

Various Nottingham athletes spent a recent day off from school at the Trenton Boys and Girls Club. Northstar athletes ranging from baseball, girls soccer, football, cheerleading, track & field, cross country, swimming, tennis, and field hockey all came together for a great day of teamwork. They spent the day teaching and collaborating in various educational activities with the fantastic young kids from the Trenton Boys and Girls Club. From Left to Right are Eric Struble, Mackenzie Henry, Shannon McLaughlin, Samantha Kelly, Lindsay Argiriou, Arianna Hampton, Daisy Hoffman, Mia Salenetri, Joe Fosco, Katie Johnson, Faiq Siddiqui, Vincent Morency, Theresa Miktus, Kaitlin Alvarez, Jugal Shah, Taylor Varone, Joely DeMonte, Brian Munnelly and Meraf Degaga.

The Hamilton West cheerleaders proudly display their CVC Divsion championship plaque along with their Spirit Award after excelling at the competition on Nov. 22 at Hightstown High School. Joining the girls are members of the football team, who showed up to cheer them on in a case of role reversal (Photo by Jason "Shutterbug" Malloy). CVC Cheerleading CompetitionHamilton makes school history by winning division title

Former Steinert athlete, baseball coach and athletic director Rich Giallella displays his plaque after receiving one of the top athletic honors in New Jersey high school sports. Giallella was inducted to the NJSIAA Hall of Fame Monday at the Pines Manor in Edision. He is flanked by NJSIAA President Thomas Coleman on the left and Executive Director Steve Timko on the right (Photo by Brian "The Chef" Giallella). Dec. 1, 2014 NJSIAA Hall of FameIt's official: Giallella one of NJ sports top contributors

The Angiolino family poses behind a photo of Joey on Sunday, as Joey's Little Angels 4th Annual Toy Drive took place at Mercer Oaks (aka The House That Hinsey Built) and hauled in a record 656 toys to be donated to Duke hospital, Capital Health, Children's Hospital Of Pennsylvania and RWJ New Brunswick. The Reynolds 8th-graders were on hand to sing songs to the invited friends and family, while several athletes donned kid-friendly costumes, including Hamilton's Kevin Smiegocki (Sponge Bob), Notre Dame's "Deli" Dom Charello (Buzz Light Year), Steinert's Dominic Maglione (Elmo) and Grice's Vinnie Maglione (Dora The Explorer). Volunteers also included Nottingham's Maria Ship, Notre Dame's Alyssa "Deli Queen" Chiarello, Steinert's Megan Brugnoli, Morgan "The Menace" Comfort, Paige Meszaros, Gaby Bennett and Katie Whittaker.

Hamilton grad Jayson DiManche walks off the field with all smiles after a Bengals win in October. The second-year man feels his NFL career is progressing nicely in Cincinnati. Nov. 15, 2014 Q&A With Jayson DiMancheDiManche talks football after watching a West victory

Coach Erin Wolverton (left) recently led the Hamilton West Unified Soccer team to the silver medal at the 2014 Shriver Cup Soccer Championship. Play Unified has provided an opportunity for all athletes to compete in an inclusive environment. Athletes competed from across the state during this event on Nov. 2. Hamilton's players (not in order) included Mark Harmon, Joe Misciascio, John Mudri, Orlando Negron, Sam Nelson, Daniel Rodas, Shayne Rogers, Lashay Ross, Jeff Ruble, Tatiana Saffron and Alex Smith (Photo by Carol Teeter).Shriver Cup Soccer ChampionshipWest earns silver at Shriver Cup Soccer Championship

The Nottingham High Career Explorations Class, taught by Rob Nosari (front row right), welcomed Fish4scores' CEO Rich Fisher as a guest speaker Friday morning and asked several thought-provoking questions about careers in journalism. Fish4scores would like to thank the class for their invitation and their courtesy (Photo by Joe Shamma).

Prior to the national invasion of Special Olympics athletes to Mercer County, the Hamilton SKOR Diamonds Unified Softball Team won the Gold at the New Jersey Special Olympics State Games in early June. Team members are Sean and Nick Reese, Alex Buzgo, Tommy Smith, Billy Collins, Ryan "Mehoff" Fink, Charlie Wagner, Ben Kraml, John McKenna, Andrea Roberts, Justin Jennings, Kyle Stricker, Kevin Brunkel, Michael Underwood and Bruce Sapp.

Special athletes from HamiltonThe New Jersey Special Olympics was staged in New Jersey this week and a couple of Hamilton Township athletes distinguished themselves well. Above, Patrick Rhoads, who has worked for Mercer County Special Services for the past 18 years, scored several goals for the New Jersey soccer team, and had one in the championship game when NJ beat Texas, 4-1. Below, Sean Reese, the pride of the YMCA, shows the form that enabled him go 6-for-12 for the Jersey softball team (Top photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com; below photo by Michael Dill/michaeldillphotgraphy.com).

Spartans take the nation by storm!The Steinert cheerleaders proudly display their championship banner and trophy they earned by taking first place in the Large Varsity Level 4 at the 2014 All-Star Cheer and Dance Nationals at the ESPN Wild World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. (Click for more pictures).

Sporting the same Orange & Black colors of the Cincinnati Bengals that he used to wear while playing for Hamilton West, Bengals linebacker Jayson DiManche gave the students at Wilson Elementary School a thrill on Monday when he was the honorary "Principal of the Day." DiManche thoroughly enjoyed his day in the big seat, posting on Facebook "A big thank you to Principal Panfili and the whole Wilson Elementary school staff for letting me run around the halls all day! It was such a great experience and I enjoyed being around all of the students, teachers and parents, I can't wait to be back!" There is no word yet whether the Bengals have offered Principal Barbara Panfili the opportunity to be Linebacker of the Day next training camp, but we here at Fish4scores highly recommend it. Afterall, fair is fair! (Photo by Nick Sakowski).

Nottingham senior Raychel Waltz displays the trophy she earned Wednesday for winning the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions Bowling title at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick. Raychel is the first girl from Mercer County to ever win the championship (Photo by Kristin Dunham).Feb. 12 Tournament of Champions BowlingNottingham's Raychel Waltz the Queen of New Jersey!

The Nottingham High cheerleaders not only cheer for a state champion, they are champs in their own right as they tell whose number one after winning last Sunday's CVC Cheerleading Classic's Small Division title. Nov. 17 CVC Cheerleading ClassicSteinert takes overall title; Stars also win; West second

Hamilton West graduate Jayson DiManche is making positive strides with the Cincinnati Bengals during his rookie season, and was awarded his first NFL game ball in last Sunday's win over the Jets (Photo by wlwt.com).Nov. 2 Q&A With Cincinnati Bengals Jayson DiMancheWest grad not letting himself get overwhelmed by NFL

Hamilton Township resident Sean Reese watches his majestic drive for Team New Jersey during Saturday's Special Olympics of North American Softball Invitational Tournament at Mercer County Park. Several Hamiltonians played and coached in the event, which featured 24 teams from across the nation (Photo by John Blaine/purchase photos at jbsportsphoto@aol.com).Click here for more photos

The winning foursome at this year's Al Doan Jr. Memorial Golf Outing at Old York Country Club were (from left) of Tom Boesch, Mike "Father of Bullet Head” Braender, George Joo and Kurt Amburgey. The group shot a blistering 13 under par (Photo by Wes "The Media Mogul" Kirkpatrick). Al Doan Jr. Memorial Golf Outing Record turnout and new champion highlight a nice day

Hamilton West graduate Jayson DiManche (54) takes the field for preseason warm-ups with the Bengals prior to Thursday night's ESPN game at Atlanta. DiManche a linebacker, is trying to make Cincinnati after signing as a free agent out of Southern Illinois and had a quarterback sack in his first game (Photo by Morgan Pietrow). Aug. 9 NFL Bengals' website calls West's DiManche 'interesting case'

FISH BOWL I Where the Super Bowl collides with Fish4scoresNicole Kasian, the first lady of Steinert football, has laid claims to the inaugural Fish Bowl 1 title by predicting the Super Bowl winner and the exact 34-31 score. Nicole is the individual winner while her school also claimed the team title, making it a clean sweep in Spartan Land.

FISH TALES (Also known asRich Fisher's blog)April 12The right man wonThe script is too good to be true.The man who sticks by his wife as she battles breast cancer, the man who has always been a class act and a true famly man, wins the Masters. The guy who was so utterly scummy to his wife didn't. There's nothing more to write. It was just great. Wait, there is one more thing. I used to be indifferent toward the man who apparently invented golf (and re-invented the libido), other than hating the way broadcasters gushed over him. But after his utter dirt bag behavior and these well-crafted, spin doctor apologies, and that completely disgraceful Nike commercial with his late father's voice-over, I hope he never wins again. And now, he probably won't. It's one thing to put the shame and humiliation of sexual indisgression behind you. But when you're snubbed by a high-powered media outlet like Fish4Scores, which captures an audience all the way from Bromley to Groveville. . .well, you've pretty much had it. April 5A banner day forEagles PR machine The Donovan McNabb trade is already successful for the Eagles. For the past two years, Joe Banner has despised the Phillies for stealing the Eagles thunder. He seems to have a problem with fans wanting to follow a team that actually wins championships rather than comes close. But the timing of this trade could not have come at a better time for Eagles public relations.All winter long the Philadelphia fans have salivated at Roy Halladay’s first start in a Phillies uniform. On a normal day, the morning sportscasts would be blaring about Halliday’s debut.Instead, it’s been shoved beneath a mountain of McNabb. Not sure if that was part of the plan – probably not – but it’s obviously a tremendous piece of good timing for the Eagles. Now, when the actual NFL games start, it will be a little different. This trade has shocked the world, if only because McNabb has gone to a team that will play Philly twice a year. And that will, indeed, be interesting. If anything, McNabb has shown a penchant for coming up short in games that mean a lot. Can you even imagine him coming into Philadelphia, a place where his relationship has been nothing short of bizarre considering the love and hate he gets from there. Will he show the fans they were wrong and have a huge game? Or will he choke it up as has been his custom. Time will tell. But I have to imagine that right now, Joe Banner is sitting in his office quite smug. The team that he hates, maybe as much as the Cowboys themselves, has been completely knocked from the public eye in Philadelphia, in what should be a major Phillies moment. Oh, and by the way, the NCAA championship game is tonight.Click here for past blogs.

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FISH TALES

(Also known as Rich Fisher's blog)June 16, 2015

Fish4scores coverage in limbo for a few weeks June 16: For those of you wondering where your little league and softball results are, here is the situation. I am in the process of selling and buying a home, and in between I will be living in Montgomery for at least two weeks. I am in the home stretch of packing up my entire house for the first move. The reason for this boring oratory on my life history is that this is a massive undertaking. Between the moves and my actual paying jobs there are not enough hours in the day to tend to Fish4scores the way it should be. Therefore, the coverage will not be what you are used to for at least the next month as I uproot and get re-settled. This includes legion, Babe Ruth and District 12 coverage. I can only promise to do the best we can during this time but please understand that if things don't appear, or appear very late, this is the reason. I apologize for this but there just are not enough hours in the day for me to be able to operate Fish4scores for the time being. You are still invited to submit things and I will try and get them up, but if you feel you might be wasting your time, I get it. Thank you for understanding.

May 24, 2015Remember whywe are here thisholiday weekendMay 24:I always get a little nostalgic this weekend just because of what it stands for. And I always get a little mad at myself too. There are times I find myself cranky because I have to work during the weekend while my friends are down the shore. Or because no one I know is having a picnic or something cool and I feel like I'm missing out on something. Or someone does have a picnic and it sucks! lol And that's when I suddenly realize I'm a selfish idiot who has no idea how good he has it. Two of the finest men I have had the honor of knowing are combat veterans -- my ldad, who was in the Navy in World War II, and my good friend John Wagner, who was in the army during Viet Nam. Thank God we are not remembering them for perishing in war, as my dad lived to nearly 80 and Wags is still going strong while living his life one unique disaster at a time, be it the cable company, his backyard or Rich Giallella. It is probably because of my relationship with them that I often think about the servicemen and women this weekend. Neither of them ever talk (or talked) about combat. My dad told funny stories about his buddies, Wags tells hard- to-believe stories about serving under Norman Schwarzkopf. They never talk(ed) about the death or destruction and I can't blame them. Who would want to remember that? But I'm pretty sure they privately recall(ed) buddies they lost in their wars and think of them fondly. And that is what all of us should take time to do this weekend. Just take 2 minutes to say a little prayer, thanking the millions we never knew but who never lived long enough to buy their own backyard grill to celebrate Memorial Day. These are anonymous heroes that are as important to this country as Abe Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, LeBron James and Ryan Seacrest have ever been. Nothing against those guys, but we give them more of a thought each day then we ever did the guys who truly sacrificed for us. There have been a lot of holidays out there contrived just for the retail world. Not this one. . .this is a sincere holiday designed to salute the most unsung heroes in this country's history. I don't know any of them, but I love them and appreciate them all. Do them a favor. . .spend 1 or 2 minutes this weekend letting them know you love them too, in any way you feel comfortable. And then go out and enjoy your picnics and shore trips and parades, and know that you are doing exactly what they fought for you to do. Happy Memorial Day!

May 11, 2015

Rest In Peace,

Judge O’Donnell

May 11: Mercer County lost an absolute legend on Sunday.

Friends and family are mourning the passing of the great Judge Daniel O’Donnell today, while at the same time celebrating his incomparable life. The Judge – which is how he is affectionately referred to by all who know him – succumbed peacefully to a battle with cancer surrounded by his family on Mother’s Day.

And while The Judge is a West Trenton guy, he deserves tribute on this website as he has four grandchildren making an impact on the Hamilton Township sports scene. Actually, he deserves tribute regardless, but he has certainly been on the township scene the past decade. Grandkids Jack, Sean, Flannery and Grace (my personal favorite, as we share a common interest) have all played basketball for St. Gregory’s in the Mercer County CYO League, while Grace and Flannery are also long-time players in Hamilton PAL basketball.

Their dad – The Judge’s son and my close friend Dan – has served as a St. Gregory’s coach while their mom Megan served as the team mom.

The kids have also played in the YMCA soccer leagues out at Sawmill, and Jack was a varsity soccer player for Notre Dame High.

Why am I telling you all this? Because The Judge was a constant presence on the sidelines at those games, quietly looking on proudly as his grandchildren performed. To watch him or to talk with him, you would never know he was a very powerful man in Mercer County as a retired Superior Court Judge.

Nope, you would think he ran the hardware store down the street. Or that he was a retired stand-up comedian, as two of his greatest traits were modesty and humor.

The Judge was truly a regular guy. He liked to hang out at the old Tony Kall’s bar in Trenton with other county legends, including veteran sportswriters Bus Saidt and Harvey Yavener, along with popular man-about-town Joe Tiger

He enjoyed having fun, enjoyed his family, absolutely loved golf and went about it all in an easy going manner. But he was also serious about his job and was truly one of the most respected judges you will ever run across. He was also popular. And there is a fine line to walk in being respected AND beloved, because some people fear those they respect, and others don’t quite respect those they like.

The Judge’s secret was blending wisdom with humor and common sense. It was what made him respected in his court room and with the gang at Tony Kall’s.

And as Dan Jr. will attest, The Judge enjoyed the company of all his son’s friends. We were so privileged to not just know him, but get to spend time with him as he took great interest in things that we did. I didn’t see him all that much, but when I did, he treated me like a close friend.

I have, of course, left out The Judge’s greatest love – Notre Dame University sports. He graduated from Notre Dame and had a lifelong passion for the Irish athletic teams. I am one of those guys who always root against dynasties – Yankees, Notre Dame, Duke, etc. – but when I knew The Judge was on limited time this winter, I secretly rooted for Notre Dame to shock the world and win the NCAA Tournament.

It didn’t happen, but I’m sure The Judge took it in his usual, off-beat manner.

And as a final tribute to The Judge, I leave you with my favorite line from his vault of dry wit – and take this with a grain of salt and the humor in which it was meant, as he spent a lifetime as a church-going man happily married to his wife Jean.

But whenever The Judge was asked how old he was when he got married, he would casually respond with a straight face “Thirty-three. . .same age as Christ when they crucified him.”

Every married guy in the world roared, and even Jean had to laugh.

So rest in peace Judge. You were always loved and your memory will always be cherished with a smile.

* * * *

Steinert phys-ed teacher and former varsity basketball coach Albert Mostrangeli wants it known that Spartan baseball slugger is not his son.

“Everyone is asking me that,” Mostrangeli said. “I think we have the same great grandfather. That might make us like, fifth cousins or something.”

It’s not that Albert doesn’t want to be associated with Ryan. He’s just getting tired of being asked! Who says we don't help make life easier for people here?

May 1, 2015Merry Christmas!Mariota to Birdsfarce typical ofNFL draft overkill May 1: On Thursday afternoon prior to the Steinert-Nottingham girls lacrosse game, Spartans Athletic Director Steve Gazdek said it was “Christmas Day” for football fans, because the NFL draft was beginning that night. Gaz isn’t the only one to call it that, but he was the last one I heard say it before the draft started. And for Philadelphia Eagles fans, Gazdek could not have been more correct. Not because they got the gift that they wanted. Quite the opposite, in fact. But the whole lead-up to the draft was, and always is, not unlike getting ready to celebrate the biggest holiday of the year.

Think about it. In preparing for Christmas, we shop. We decorate. We clean (well, I don’t). We party (I do). We send out cards. We party some more. We wrap presents. We make plans. This goes on for months.And then, Christmas arrives. One day. And boom! Gone. Sixty days of preparation and the whole thing you’re preparing for, lasts for a tiny blip on the radar screen. It’s like “We did all that, for this?” And half the time it’s a big letdown. Now, think about Eagles fans. I abhor talk radio, especially the Philadelphia stations because they just beat to death everything Eagles all the time, as if nothing else exists (In fairness, all media outlets in Philly did this with the Mariota thing). But I do check in the talk shows, every so often, just to see if either Ray Didinger is on (who is the best, hands down), or if they might be talking about something else. Needless to say, since the end of this past football season, they talked about NOTHING but how the Eagles could go an unprecedented 20th to 2nd to get Marcus Mariota. They discussed the pros. The cons. Every conceivable deal. Every slick move. Every stupid move. What’s enough? What’s too much? If scientists put as much effort into curing AIDS and cancer, we would be the healthiest planet in the universe. This went on for days, weeks, months. Same topic, over and over, just re-wrapped in different packages. So what happens on Thursday? The anticipation builds all day, and within 30 minutes, boom! Gone! Tennesse takes Marcus in the second round. All that planning. All that arguing, all that hashing and re-hashing. And for what? Less than a half hour to realize it didn’t happen. Now you wait around for New Year’s Eve – which in this case is when the Eagles actually drafted – and hope to salvage the holidays by having a good time and maybe get a kiss from someone who’s good looking. The whole process is what’s great and terrible about the NFL draft. It’s great for the NFL itself, terrible for people like me, who love watching pro football games but don’t enjoy living the NFL every freakin’ day of the year. Never have so many wrong predictions been made, than those leading up to draft day. Never have there been more arguments about stuff that won’t even happen. And that is why it’s great for the NFL, because right or wrong, people are talking about the league every hour of every day. I start to think Roger Goodell and his merry band of owners won’t be happy until every other sport in this country is extinct. I don’t knock them for succeeding. I praise them for their marketing abilities. It’s just not for me, that’s all. But most people love it, and the NFL seizes that, like any smart business would. Again, don’t get me wrong. I love NFL football. I live for it in the fall, when it’s played. But hey, there’s more out there in the world the other seven months of the year.Even if the NFL doesn’t want us to ever explore it.

* * * * Speaking of Christmas, Steinert’s Gaby Bennett might want to set up a tree in May to take care of all the gifts she has been getting. And they’re all well deserved. Gaby is in the home stretch of an outstanding career, in which she has stamped herself as one of the great female athletes in Steinert history. She has won the maximum of 12 varsity letters. She played first singles at tennis for four straight years despite never playing competitive tennis before high school. She was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball. And she’s going to The College of New Jersey for softball – her best sport.

Recently, Bennett has been given scholarships by the Mercer County Softball Hall of Fame and the Steinert Athletic Hall of Fame. This Sunday, she is being given the Renee Keister Award and the Doug Hice Award at the 34th and final Clarence O’Shea Memorial Awards Breakfast. For those who aren’t aware, Renee Keister is former McCorristin High basketball great who is now Steinert mom Renee Balke. Renee's daughter, Maddy, is teammates with Bennett in softball and basketball. That makes it kind of cool. So congratulations Gaby. You’ve been fun to cover for four years, despite having to put up with your dad (Love ya Mr. Dolphin!) and I’m sure your future is bright at TCNJ.

And congratulations Renee, for having your award to go to such a class act. * * * * While we’re on the subject, this is the last Clarence O’Shea breakfast and it will be missed.

For 34 years, the first Sunday in May brought together a plethora of Mercer County sports figures for just a really cool event. Coaches and athletes are honored and awarded, and it just illustrates the unique bond that this county has when it comes to high school sports. A lot of that had to do with the late Trentonian writer Joe Logue, who covered high school sports for over 50 years, was a huge influence on me, and started the Golden Wave Club that runs the breakfast. I always liked that Joe’s legacy lived on with this event, and I’m sorry to see it go, but with Linda Weise getting the big award and a slew of great kids getting scholarships, it is going out on top. * * * * They don’t get a lot of publicity, but here’s a shout-out for the Nottingham boys tennis team. The Northstars had lost 22 straight matches at one point into this season, but have come back with three wins. It’s not a lot, but it’s an improvement that deserves a few kudos. Well done fellas. * * * * The Mercer County Baseball Tournament is upon us beginning Monday, and here is what’s always important to remember. Don’t be surprised to see lower seeds upset higher ones. Sometimes, it’s not even an upset. Baseball, unlike any other sport out there, is the only one in which a school doesn’t have its best team on the field every game. It all comes down to pitching. When your ace is out there, you have your best tetam. If another team has an ace going against you, it can beat you because that’s their best team. Case in point, Steinert’s loss to Bridgewater-Raritan this year. The Spartans threw their No. 4, the Panthers threw their No. 1 and Steinert got beat pretty good. But that wasn’t the Spartans “best” team. Another point to make is that the MCT seeding is based strictly on record, which is never a great indicator, but it’s really the only way to go about it. So, that also can be a little misleading on where a team is bracketed. I’m not predicting a rash of upsets. I’m just saying, don’t be stunned if and when they happen, because they can occur in baseball more than in any other sport. * * * * Steinert’s Ryan Mostrangeli has been hitting so good, that when he goes 2-for-4 it is a slump. That’s what he did on Friday at Lawrence, and his average actually dropped from .535 to .532. Time to hit the batting cage Ryan!Apr. 19, 2015I hate to say it, buthistory tells us thatMets or Yankeeswill win it all by '19 Apr. 19: The Mets and Yanks are feeling pretty good about themselves this weekend after sweeping teams from Florida. Are they on the precipice of something big? I’m not sure it will be this year, but it’s not far off. I despise both teams, but I am here to say that if you are a fan of the Mets or Yankees, take heart. It’s a virtual lock that one of your teams is going to win a World Series within the next five years. History says so. It didn’t start well for Gotham. The New York Giants (yes kids, the same franchise that now wins all the time in San Francisco) won the second World Series ever in 1905, and no New York team won another until the Giants won three straight from 1921-23. In fact, from 1921 through 1962, the longest streak of a non-New York World Series winner was three years. Three years!! The three New York teams won 27 championships during that time, the rest of baseball 15. Think about that. I know as a Phillies fan I sure do...and not with a smile. Most of that had to do with the Yankees, of course, as they won 20 during that period. But that “less-than-a-decade streak” was in serious jeopardy in the 1960s/early 70s when the Yanks were the worst they’ve ever been (aahhh, they were the days!). The Bombers went without titles from 1963-76 and New Yorkers needed a miracle to keep the less-than-10 streak alive. And that’s exactly what they got. It came in 1969 when the 8-year-old Mets – who were one of the worst franchises ever in their first seven years – stunned Baltimore to win the Series. They were dubbed the Miracle Mets and “The Amazins’”, a term the New York Post still uses. Had the Mets not pulled off the biggest shocker in MLB history, it would have been a 14-year drought in Gotham. Some lean times have followed, as New York toyed with a decade-long Series drought numerous times. From 1970 to 1995, there were dry spells of seven years (Yanks win in 1977-78), eight years (Mets win in 1986), and the longest one of all, nine years. But still not 10! We New York haters had to pay for that bliss, however, as the Yanks snapped the skid in 1996 to start a binge of four titles in five years. That was followed by another eight-year dearth before the Yanks won in 2009. That was five years ago. As you know by now if you’ve managed to read this far, the famine never reaches 10. So sometime between now and 2019, either you Mets fans or you Yankees fans can prepare to celebrate. And yes, it kills me to say that. But hey, you can’t argue with history. * * * How about Britt McHenry? What a shallow, egotistical, entitled, angry disgrace of a human being she is. For those not familiar with the story, McHenry is the hot blonde sideline reporter for ESPN. Yes I know, I’ll probably have to be more specific since that only narrows it down to a zillion. Anyway, her car was towed in Virginia and she went off on the cashier at the pound and berated her in just an awful way. She degraded the other woman's job, teeth and weight, while she arrogantly proclaimed "I'm on TV!". (Maybe I should try that sometime. “Hey, I’m on Fish4scores!” How hard would that person be laughing?) Anyway, a video of this tirade went viral and ESPN gave her a week’s suspension. A week! You have to actually see the video to realize that a week is not enough.McHenry has her detractors and her defenders, as several columns have been written saying we don't hear what the other person said and that the towing company had a horrible reputation. But we do hear the woman telling McHenry she was on video, so if the cashier knew this was being taped, would she really say something to instigate such responses and risk her own job? Whatever, Britt got suspended for a measly week. But think about it. This has become standard now at ESPN. One of their on-air personalities does or says something outrageous and all they do is get suspended instead of actually fired.

Why? Because the incidents always get great publicity and ESPN knows that once these people return on air, anyone who didn’t know them before, will want to watch them now to see just who these horrible people are. Britt McHenry is more famous now than ever before. It’s all about the ratings, and jerks like this bump the ratings. Their horrid behavior is the best publicity ESPN could get. And this is a network that has taken self-publicity to unthinkable levels. * * * Haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t feel bad for Princeton Day School’s Cole McManimon having a game-tying home run taken away from him when it was ruled he missed home plate against Hamilton. And he was told he missed it by a lot. As a photo by Hamilton photographer David Bremer showed, that clearly wasn’t the case. Three high school umpires I have spoken with, who saw Bremer’s photo of Cole’s foot either on the edge of the plate or missing it by a 1,000th of an inch, said they would never have made that call in a million years. Actually, they just said they wouldn’t make the call. I added the million years for effect. One coach told me “If they made that call against my team they would have had to take me away in handcuffs.” Hey, everyone makes mistakes, but when it costs a kid one of the most memorable moments he might have in high school, that just plain sucks. * * *

How about the track & field resurgence in Hamilton Township? The Nottingham boys have been outstanding for the past seven years and are off to another great start this year. The Hamilton West boys rose from the ashes the past two years and still have some quality athletes who could do well in the state and county meets. And the Steinert boys – a program that has been in disarray for a long time, had a huge turnout this year and had a nice dual meet win over Hightstown last week. The Spartans have some good weight men, an improving sprinter in Marco Granston and some nice distance runners.

On the girls’ side, Nottingham’s Grace Dwyer is not the only game in town anymore. Hamilton West has made tremendous strides this year and have some strong sprinters, jumpers and throwers. I loved Hannah Donkor’s line the other day, saying “It’s Field and Track” instead of track and field. And Steinert has some quality throwers and distance girls that will also be heard from in states and counties. The best part is, when you listen to the athletes talk, they are proud of the track renaissance. It’s not just a sport for them to stay in shape. They want to succeed and they want their team to succeed. * * *

What a great night for Nottingham softball on Saturday, winning their tournament and beating a really good East Brunswick team in the title game in walk-off fashion after trailing 2-0. But I gotta tell you, I was pretty scared when Kristin “Z” Hallam got hit in the back with a pickoff throw and started screaming. Part of it was concern, the other was shock. Hallam is not just a great player, but a tough, tough kid. When you hear someone like that crying loudly and yelling she can’t feel her arm, it’s frightening. And I can only imagine how her teammates and family members felt.

Fortunately, she hung in there and scored the winning run, although she did say today that her back was “a little sore.” When I told her she scared the hell out of me, she said “I scared the heck out of myself!”

* * * Congratulations to Bob Hutchinson, who came in 12 minutes under the over-under mark set for his Steinert Hall of Fame induction speech Saturday night. His championship softball team was inducted last year and the extremely popular Hutch proceeded to give one of the longest speeches in HOF history. I was informed this year by former Spartan trainer/coach Ron Sebastiani that the over-under was 17 minutes, and the actual speech took five. Congrats Hutch, on the well-deserved honor and on the brevity!

* * * Note to Brian “The Chef” Giallella. Stop scheduling games on the same day of the Steinert Hall of Fame dinner. It seems you lose all the time on that day. Instead, you should help the kitchen prepare the dinner for that night.

Apr. 5, 2015

The blog isresurrected! Apr. 5: What better day to resurrect this blog than Easter Sunday, right? Happy Easter everybody, I hope you’ve all had a good past eight months while I’ve been gone, and I hope you have a nice holiday today.

* * * So, how about this Steinert baseball team. When you talk about amazing starts to a season, it doesn’t get better than what the Spartans have done.

In their first two games, they rally to tie it in the seventh and win it in the bottom of the eighth. That’s a tough act to follow, and yet yesterday the Spartans beat the No. 1 ranked team in the state. What was most impressive about that feat is that Steinert did it legitimately. OK, maybe a few of the big hits got help from the wind, but for the most part, Steinert stung the ball against one of the state’s best pitchers. The Spartans pitching harnessed an attack that had scored 27 runs in two games, and the defense was nearly flawless. Kudos to both coaches afterward. Brian “The Chef” Giallella did not gloat over the win and kept things in perspective. GC’s Mike Rucci took his team to task, saying it did nothing right. But at the same time he praised the Spartans for their effort and gave them their due credit.

It was a great day at Fort Giallella, which is abuzz these days with the addition of Jim “Chorizo & Eggs” Geraci as the public address announcer. * * * Since this is the first blog in 8 months, I must take time to acknowledge our new Athlete of the Week sponsor, Rossi's Tavern on Whitehorse Road. Alan Meinster, Mike Rossi and the crew have been awesome to work with. And for those who don't know, the legendary hamburger establishment is now running a Sunday brunch from 10 to 2, so check it out. Good stuff! * * * Who said Rutgers fans don’t have any rooting interest in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?

If Wisconsin can defeat Duke Monday night, the Scarlet Knight faithful can proudly say their team beat the team that went on to win the national championship. Of course, the Badgers didn’t have Frank Kaminsky in that game, and the win was followed by 13 straight losses to end the season, so make of it what you will. * * *

I’m wrestling with what to make of Kentucky after last night. Everyone says it’s a special team, it went 38-0, blah blah blah. But, how special can a team be that doesn’t even make it to the finals? I understand that this was a team that could have let egos get in the way with so many superstars, and they all banded together, sacrificed playing time and had one heck of a run. I still think, however, they are a better team than Wisconsin. And when you’re the better team and you don’t win, that takes a little shine off the “special” tag. I myself thinkWisconsin is pretty special. They are a fun team to watch (as was Kentucky) and they use their personnel to perfection. Sam Dekker is the perfect complement to Kaminsky, who is unique just by the fact he always looks like he’s five seconds away from dozing off.

And the biggest thing Wisconsin did, was make life normal again for all of us Duke haters. The scuttlebutt was that if Duke and Kentucky met in the finals, this would be one time everyone rooted for Duke because it was the underdog (I would have rooted for Kentucky). As it turns out, we don’t have to worry about it anymore. Goooooo Badgers!!! * * *

So I have a 17-game season ticket plan for the Phillies, and I was complaining on Friday night because one of the games in my plan was the exhibition game with the Pirates. Well, kudos to the Phils for pulling a class act. Because of the bad weather, anyone with tickets to that game can exchange their stubs for any game in April besides opening day. Granted, Phils will be hurting for fans this year. But still, it’s a nice gesture. * * *

This is way overdue and something I would have written in February if I had a blog in February. But this issue of Tom Brady vs. Joe Montana as the greatest quarterback is interesting.

Most people seem to think Montana is the better QB because he went 4-0 in the Super Bowl. He never lost. Brady, of course, is 4-2. So because he has won as many Supes as Montana, but lost two, he is not as great. So, what does that mean? We are penalizing our quarterbacks for making it to the Super Bowl? If you make it and lose, it diminishes your value?

And of course, the most ludicrous reason I ever heard (from a Philadelphia radio host) is that Montana is greater because he beat better quarterbacks. There is no more useless stat in sports than a quarterback’s record vs. another quarterback, because they are playing against the defense. I don’t know what the statistics are, so I’m not sure how good the defenses were that Montana beat, as opposed to the defenses that Brady beat. But that is what should determine this argument, don’t you think? Let’s put it this way. One of the great defenses of all time was the 1985 Chicago Bears. The quarterback of that team was a charismatic but hardly great Jim McMahon. Let’s just say the Patriots beat the Bears in that Super Bowl (instead, they got blown out).

Going by this radio host’s barometer, New England quarterback Tony Eason’s feat wouldn’t be all that great because he only beat McMahon. When, in fact, he actually beat a legendary defense. Anyway, I’m putting Brady as the greatest. I think getting to six Super Bowls and winning four of them is pretty damn impressive, especially when it took a miracle catch in one of his losses to beat him. * * * OK, I know this blog is pretty boring. But hey, it’s been a while. I’m just warming up. The next one I write will be VERY boring. :)